Broken Pieces

This time of year, right before Thanksgiving, Christmas Open Houses are everywhere.
Many local artists have exhibits of projects they have been working on all year.
Craft shows are abundant as handmade ornaments are on display.
I enjoy window shopping you might say.

Sometimes I get ideas that I can do myself.
Sometimes I find something interesting to add to our collection.
Sometimes I find things for my children who are beginning their own traditions.
Mostly, I just enjoy this time of year and all the festivities that go along with it.

It was at my sale that I found some things.
It was the large consignment sale that I go to twice a year.
The fall sale always has a large Christmas section.
Many things would not interest me but often there are a few wonderful finds.

This year I found two such things.
I saw a figurine that was in perfect condition.
It depicted a Norman Rockwell scene.
It is from his painting, Bringing Home The Christmas Tree.

The figurine was in perfect condition.
Someone was probably donating things they could not use any more.
How could they part with this?
I put it carefully in the bag that was over my arm.

I walked a bit further and saw a snowman.
He was about twelve inches high.
He was holding a birdhouse in one mitten-ed hand and a cardinal was in the other.
Upon closer inspection, the snowman was actually a birdhouse himself.

I placed him carefully in the bag as well.
When you go to the sale on opening day, there are crowds everywhere.
I have gone to this sale twice a year for well over 25 years.
I have learned how to shop there; what to look for and what to avoid.

Bringing your own bags is wise since there are never enough boxes or bags at the checkout.
I found some books for our library.
I found a few other things that I separated between the two bags on my arms.
I went to the checkout tables and unloaded the things I was buying.

It was then I noticed that the scarf on the boy in the Norman Rockwell figure was broken.
It was the one end of the scarf that was supposed to be blowing in the wind.
I looked at the bottom of my bag and saw the piece laying there.
It had broken off cleanly and could easily be glued.

I still bought the figurine because I love Norman Rockwell paintings.
I got home and my husband was in the kitchen.
What did you find? he asked as he drank his cup of coffee.
I smiled thinking about how many times he has asked me that question over the years.

I took the things out of my bag so that I could sort them.
I told him about the piece of the boy’s scarf that broke off.
I can glue it for you, he said.
I got out the snowman and put it on the kitchen island.

As I laid it down, it hit a dish that I had bought.
The head of the snowman broke neatly off.
There I was holding the body of the snowman in one hand and the head in another.
By this time, my husband had the hot glue gun plugged in and was repairing the broken scarf.

He reached out his hand.
You better give me the snowman as well, he said with a smile.
I was so frustrated at myself for not being more careful as I laid the snowman down.
I handed the headless snowman to my husband.

Isn’t that always the way it goes?
My youngest daughter was home for fall break from college and walked into the kitchen.
Oh, Mom, I’m sorry that happened, she said as she looked at the headless snowman.
I guess I will have to bring bubble wrap next time I go the sale for the fragile things, I said.

We have all experienced this.
You are all dressed to go out and notice a run in your stocking.
You just get your car washed and it rains.
You shovel your driveway and the snowplow comes down the street and piles more snow there.

In the scheme of things, it is not a big deal.
But in the moment, the little, frustrating things add up.
We can either get upset or laugh.
I prefer the latter.

So I went down to the potter’s house and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. (Jeremiah 18:3,4)

I watched my husband glue the head back on the snowman and the scarf back on the boy.
He repaired it expertly.
I cannot see where the scarf was broken.
I can only see a small line where the head of the snowman had cracked.

I realized that is what God, the Master Potter, does with us.
We are broken.
We have cracks.
We need to be mended.

There is no need for God to start over.
He has already created us in His image.
He needs only to repair and reshape as it seems best to Him.
He is reshaping us into the likeness of His Son, Jesus.

We are the clay in the Potter’s hand.
It is up to Him to form us and shape us as He sees fit.
He repairs all broken pieces.
He mends us expertly.

We have to give Him the pieces.
We cannot hold onto them.
They are useless as they lay there, broken.
The pieces need to be glued tightly together in Christ, through the Holy Spirit.

The world will be unable to see the repair.
They will just see the beauty of the finished work.
The Potter knows what He is doing.
The Potter knows what He wants the pot to look like.

It is okay to be broken.
It is okay to have pieces lying about.
In the hands of the Potter, the broken pieces will not be broken for long.
The finished work will be magnificent and will reflect the Master Potter.

Give Him the pieces.
Only He can mend you.